'Glue' Firefox Plugin Gets New Features, Needs More Users

NYC-based startup AdaptiveBlue has released a new version of its
Glue Firefox plugin. The new
version includes feature improvements, but still needs a
distribution strategy before it can make the company any serious
money.

What is Glue? Sort-of
social Web browsing tool that follows you around the Web.
Once you install Glue to your Firefox browser, it shows up when
you go to some Web pages -- like books, movies, stocks, wine,
restaurants, etc. -- and lets you see which of your friends have
browsed Web pages about the same book, movie, stock, etc.

What's new?

The new version includes "2 cents," a commenting feature that
follows each "thing" across the Web. So if you leave a comment on
Glue from the Fandango listing for "I Love You Man," Glue will
let your friends see (and reply to) the comment on the "I Love
You Man" Wikipedia page, IMDB listing, etc.

Glue now also includes a requisite "discovery" feature, which
lets you see what's popular with your friends. AdaptiveBlue CEO
Alex Iskold uses the example of filling his Netflix (NFLX) queue
with movies his friends like. That's the idea.

Good additions. But distribution is also important to Glue ever
becoming a real business. Specifically, AdaptiveBlue needs to get
more people using it. Iskold tells us that 110,000 people have
downloaded Glue, and that it has 35,000 regular users. That's not
going to be enough.

Who's already using Glue? A lot of Firefox die-hards, Iskold
tells us. That's a fine start, but if Glue is going to have a
chance, it's going to have to become a lot more mainstream.

An Internet Explorer version, coming soon, could help. So could
widgets that add some Glue features to Web pages without the
plugin. And a new feature in today's release that helps you find
your Twitter and Facebook friends on Glue is a good addition.

Another plan Iskold is working on: Bigger distribution deals
through verticals. If movie or book buffs can get value out of
Glue, those are communities where AdaptiveBlue could potentially
get more users. Stock communities, too, perhaps. Or maybe
baseball -- season starts next Monday.

The good news: Unlike many Web 2.0 services, Glue already has a
built-in revenue engine via referring people to products and
services. But until there's a lot more users, it's not going to
be a big money maker.